New Hope

The couple had done everything asked of them by the Veteran Service Officer (VSO), the VA received all the necessary documentation bt their claim was denied.   The VSO assured them that their claim was solid but the VA denied them just the same.

Their social worker contacts me, asking that I try to help.  I went to their home to assess their claim, which I found to be very solid. I told them that I would be willing to help them file. However the spouse was not convinced it would be worth it as they had already went through the process and were turned down. She was beaten down and absent hope.

I told her I understood and it was their choice but I was not asking them to do it all again but would be lodging a formal disagreement with the VA, challenging their ruling, asking for a hearing by a Decision  Review Officer (DRO) at the Regional Office. We would not be going through the same thing again, we would be going over it.

I told them I cLyle not promise what the final outcome would be but that their was real hope for a better outcome. Their pained looks and tearful eyes turned to hopeful expressions of light dancing in those eyes and hopeful smiles upon their faces.

While I could not give them guarantees, I could offer new hope. That is what so many are looking so desperately for today, something to hold on to, a bit of new hope. The final thing I offered them was a prayer. We stood in their living room, holding hands and petitioning the Father for his blessings in their life and intervention with the VA.  They were beaming as I left, expressing extreme gratitude though I had done nothing, nothing except helped them come to hope again.

When we carefully and prayerfully intervene in the lives of people wth whom God intersects our lives, we can be agents of hope. In Christ there is always hope and my prayer for you is, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Rom 15:13). Jus' Say'n